A Bonteri Family Christmas
by Johnt12345
Summary: Ahsoka and her girls get ready for Christmas. Ahsoka is hoping for a certain someone to show, but he doesn't seem to be coming. Merry Christmas.


**A Bonteri Family Christmas**

Cast of Characters:

*_Lux 'Terry' Bonteri:_ Of Onderon; Rear Admiral of The Alliance to Restore Democracy;

*_Ahsoka Tano:_ Of Shili; Jedi Knight, His wife;

_Their Children:  
>Zeri:<em> 'Beautiful Woman,' Of Onderon, Their oldest daughter, Adopted, Fully human, Not Force-Sensitive;  
><em>Mina: <em>Their oldest daughter between them, Named after Bonteri's assassinated mother, Lightsaber;  
><em>Aila: <em>'Light bearer,' Their next oldest daughter, Lightsaber;  
><em>Arya: <em>'Noble and Strong,' Their youngest with human hair, Lightsaber;  
><em>Alina: <em>'Maiden,' Their oldest daughter with montrals and lekku, Their youngest with a Lightsaber;  
><em>Amini: <em>'Faith,' Their next oldest daughter;  
><em>Precious: <em>A most cherished daughter;  
><em>Almas: <em>'Scout,' Their youngest daughter but one;  
><em>Akila: <em>'Akul Killer,' Their youngest daughter—so far.

*_Barriss Offee:_ Of Mirial; Their helper.

* = Character property of Disney.

—

—

Ashoka Tano-Bonteri, former Grand Master of the Jedi Order, was sitting in a bay window of her house, Bail House, looking out onto the silently falling snow. Snow like this absorbed sound, so nothing could be heard—even to her still sensitive, albeit old-aged, montrals and lekku. All the world was silent and peaceful.

She was alone at this time, coming on the aged ship, _The Phoenix, _a memento from an older time. Many had urged her to get rid of it, but she didn't, keeping it for old time's sake (old people tend to do that) and because, to her, it was comfortable and she knew how to control it. She let out a small chuckle at how simple everything seemed to be back then. 'Engineers, umph,' she thought, 'They think they're advancing the progress of the galaxy, but they don't understand that there are some things that just don't need changing.' This too was a lament of the older, remembering when things were simpler and easier to use.

And so, breaking from her thoughts, she looked out onto the falling snow again—and was very sad. This would be the first Christmas in a long time without he who had been husband from when she was just a teenager, Lux Bonteri, known to his friends and family as 'Terry.' As she was looking out, she was remembering another Christmas time, a time when she so yearned for him, as she did just then. But he wasn't going to be there. He had passed away just a few months previous, and she had never been the same since then.

That Christmas a long time ago came back to her in waves of fond memories. Sure it was tough back then, what with the war going on and Vader and The Emperor hunting for any and all Jedi on the loose—with herself, she knew, at the top of the list. But it's funny that how no matter how tough they seemed then, she remembered them as good times. And no matter how bleak the times were, she often thought of them fondly, if but just because she was younger. That alone seemed to make the bad times a little better.

Her family was just starting to grow up enough that Christmas time for the oldest two, Zeri and Mina, to start taking care of themselves and to go out into the world. Little Akila, not even a year yet, was crawling all over the old house, the secret one with the unobtanium training room, on the very verge of starting to walk on her own. She still had her hands full with all the others in between, six in all, from Aila, to Arya, to Alina, to Amini, to Precious, and finally to Almas, just a year and a half older than Little Akila.

But her fondness for her children, all girls, couldn't defeat the sadness and yearning she felt for her husband that Christmas. He still hadn't showed and was more likely too busy with the war then going on to take time from that to visit. No matter, she wanted to see him so much.

The family, with their helper Barris Offee as well, was starting to get into the festive mood. Although Ahsoka was a Jedi, and Jedi weren't supposed to believe in anything other than the Force, she had come to take the beliefs of the people of Onderon, her husband's home planet, that there was One above the Force, guiding events in the galaxy and dictating the Will of the Force. They both, Ahsoka and Lux, at least when Lux was able to visit, taught these beliefs to their girls and Ahsoka tried to keep some of the traditions of her husband's people.

One of those traditions was the festivities of this day. Mina was in charge of the decorations and Zeri, the oldest and Barriss, along with Aila, just a year younger than Mina were taking charge of the food. Ashoka was overseeing all of it. She was doing a good job of it, except for constantly looking out the window onto the snowy landscape and each time turning back dejected, only to look out again soon with returned hope.

A tall tree with thin leaves of green that never turn yellow and fall to the ground in the autumn of the planet was standing in the front of the large living room. Poor Fendo, their vornskr that helped to keep them safe, was put out of his place for the time, but since it was always for just a few days, he didn't seem to mind. Soon the tree was decorated festively with ribbons, shiny strings, and lights.

Each of the girls made their own little bulb decoration to put on the tree, each one less sophisticated as the girl got younger, but still very appreciated. Ashoka contributed for Akila. The little one was so strong that it was all she could do to keep Little 'Kila from breaking it but, taking the little girl's hand with a brush in it in hers, they made some simple drawings on the bulb. Everyone kept an eye on the smallest there in case she got too close to the tree and decided to topple it on her own.

In the spacious living room itself, green garlands of branches from the same type of tree as the one standing in the corner, were stitched together and hung around the walls, at the edge of the ceiling, with some branches hanging down from the rope of green along the tops of the walls. These, combined with the tree, gave off a fragrance that brought the height of Spring into the house in the middle of winter.

Under the tree was a small pile of little boxed gifts. The bigger ones were from the older girls to the younger. These were gifts they made themselves for the younger girls, each of whom took time and patience to make the little gifts. The smaller boxes were from the younger girls to the older. These, since they were not yet dexterous enough to make their own, were some small things that they saw throughout the year that they thought were special. Each were taught to put others first, either by taking time for another or giving another something they thought was special.

With Barriss, Zeri and Aila working in the kitchen, under the supervision of Ahsoka, it wasn't long before the wonderful smell of good food was competing with the fragrance of the tree and the branches, sending the family into bliss, wishing each day could be like this. The savory smell of the brace of roast goose, simmering in its own gravy in the oven was mixed with the super-sweet aroma of the plum pudding and the woodland smell of the mince pie. There was also the wheat smell of the muffins and the spicy smell of the mulled wine (for the adults) and the negus (for the children).

After a time (the geese in the oven would still take a while), the girls, Ahsoka, and Barriss gave each other the presents. Akila was too young, but all the others were able to exchange gifts and Ahsoka and Barriss exchanged gifts with each other. The gifts were simple, but were given with love and accepted with the same. Some of the gifts were copies of some small toys they saw on Shili or Onderon, the planets of their mother and father, or thought of on their own. The gifts from the young girls were also special, something they saw on their travels that they wished they could keep—but made more precious by giving it to someone else. Each admired the gift they got, no matter how simple and showed it to everyone as they opened it.

Ashoka looked out the window less and less as the day progressed as she lost hope that a special person would come. The day was starting to wane and even though there was not much to see past the falling snowflakes, it was getting darker still. She looked away and then, for some reason simply glanced outside and seemed to see a shadow moving. She looked again and the shadow, still faint, seemed to be moving in an erratic way. This put her on her guard as all the girls were looking at their mother looking out the window. Ashoka glided her hand towards her lightsaber (hidden in the folds of her dress out of sight on this day) and was about to tell her older girls to get ready and the younger ones to hide. She was about to say the first sound of the name of her oldest with a lightsaber, Mina, but stopped suddenly and her eyes became very big. In a flash, as she was, she rushed out of the house and ran towards the shadow. Then, the shadow started running towards Ahsoka. Ashoka was jacket-less and snow was clinging to her dress and her boots, but she didn't mind. She knew the one she was rushing to would take care of her. For the one rushing to her was the father of her children and her husband.

They met in flurry of snow and clung to each other as the ice clings to the roof. Lux twirled his wife around, making their own little snow whirlwind, and the love they felt for each other brought them to their knees. They stayed there trembling, not from the cold, but from the passion of their feelings for each other. After a time, Lux spoke softly, "Ahsoka, Ahsoka, you must be cold." And he proceeded to wrap her into his own jacket. Soon, warmth returned to Ahsoka and the two were able to stand, both still tucked into Lux's big, over-sized jacket. The jacket was so big and Ahsoka so petite that he was able to button the jacket with her in it, to make sure she didn't get cold again.

Lux didn't want his wife getting cold again and it would be pretty awkward to walk face-to-face like that, as much as they wanted to, so Ahsoka turned around, put her front lekku outside the jacket and her rear past the head of her husband and they started to walk like a four-legged animal back to the house, laughing all the way. Then they stopped laughing because they wanted to play a little trick on their little girls. As they got closer to the house, the older girls could see that their father had miraculously returned for this one day, but the little ones, Amini, Almas and Akila, really couldn't see the joke. So, with Ashoka walking up to the house in a big jacket and their father hiding behind Ahsoka's montrals, the little ones looked very worried for their mother. (All the other ones had the happiest smiles on their faces that their father could make it back for this one day.)

"What, what happened mama?" little Almas said as she saw her mother come to the threshold of the open door, the snow falling into the house all the while. Ashoka didn't say anything but started to unbutton the big jacket. She then loosed the last button and then jumped away, only to reveal their father, crouching down with open arms. Quickly Amini and Almas rushed to his open arms yelling "Dada! Dada " all the while. Little Akila crawled quickly to her father, over the light snow that had gathered on the threshold and they all hugged their father while crying, crying because they were so happy. It took several minutes before the little ones could calm down.

"Let's get inside before everyone freezes," their father said and he tried to walk in but Akila and Almas were still clinging to his legs. Ashoka and Zeri helped him with the girls and they got everyone inside. Lux hugged each of his daughters and admired all the presents that had been passed around, Ahsoka staying close by, keeping an arm inside his. The older girls admired this as they could see true love between the two.

Mina, the trickster of the family, disappeared for a short second and as her mother and father were going around the house, they happened to pass into the kitchen.

"Umm, Mama, Papa," Mina said as she pointed up to the archway between the living room and the dining room. Looking up straight above them was a small sprig of mistletoe, expertly placed.

"That wasn't there before," Ahsoka said. Mina cocked an eyebrow outlined with an eye marking similar to Ahsoka's, and then put on a devious smile.

"Does it matter?" asked Lux.

"In front of the children?" returned Ahsoka.

"No better time than now, on this day more than ever," her husband responded. And so they kissed each other, lightly at first and then more deeply. All the while, the little girls were putting their hands in front of their faces and the big girls were smiling. Smiling and then shocked. Shocked because before them, their mother and father, entwined in their kiss were again brought to their knees by their love.

They broke the kiss and took a few seconds to recuperate. Lux started to walk away, but he stumbled only to find himself on his knees. "Ahsoka, baby, weren't we standing up?" he asked quietly, only to be met by the laughs of his family.

Ashoka was a little dumbfounded as well, "I thought so," followed by more laughs, bringing a smile to Lux and Ahsoka.

—

And a smile to the face of Ahsoka then sitting alone, many, many years later in the bay window of her house, looking onto the falling snow, remembering the good times, and glad she had lived them. She had great peace in her heart. Then, she let out a deep, long breath, and tears started to come to her eyes. After a while, she could hear the door opening and the steps of her grand-daughter coming into the house, creaking with each step. This woman, a daughter of her second oldest daughter, Aila, was carrying her own daughter as she entered the side where Ahsoka was. She didn't say anything as she sat down and just let her little girl down onto the floor. The house was very quiet and the grand-daughter expected to see some specter of a Christmas past appear at any moment.

"That's a lot of snow," the younger woman said, looking out of the window.

"Umph," Ahsoka replied (she seemed to be harrumphing a lot recently), "I've seen more." The snow could almost hide the one you loved most.

"Yeah," replied the younger, "I think you've seen a lot." There was a short silence. "Well," she continued, "Aunt Hera and Uncle Kanan are expecting us. Do you want to go?"

"All right. Shall we go together or separate?" Ahsoka asked.

"Let's go together. The less I see you in that old ship, the less I worry. I'm not the only one, Mimaw (the word in Old Onderonian for 'grandmother'). The escape pod is still missing from it. You know you have people and Jedi to take you wherever you want to go."

'If only she knew about that little ship,' Ahsoka thought. Ahsoka just looked at the younger woman as she picked up her little girl. She was a good grand-daughter to Ahsoka, helping to take care of her after her husband's passing, but there are times when Ahsoka just wanted to be alone. 'If only she knew,' she thought again. "All right," was all she said, seeming to give up on arguing. It seemed everyone was looking for Ahsoka, but only this woman knew where she would be.

The two then left the old house. As Ahsoka was leaving, she looked around, and suddenly stopped, looking at a place inside the house and smiling. Her grand-daughter, not powerful with The Force, could not see what her grandmother saw.

But Ahsoka could see more. She saw her husband from long ago, just like that day, with the big jacket and the sweet smile. She looked at him for a long time.

"Merry Christmas."

He only nodded and disappeared, leaving her with the happiness of the season.

—

—

**Merry Christmas**

**johnt**


End file.
